"How do you assemble plastic "firing" figures?" Topic

I am speaking of figures molded with styrene derivatives.

I have a real hard time assembling "firing" figures, particularly if the arms are separate pieces.
I try to glue the left arm to the torso, and then the right holding the rifle/musket/crossbow. Before they set, I try to position them so they look natural. When I am done, they just look goofy. The musket does not end up in the supporting hand, or the arms slide down the torso, or sometimes both.
Is there a trick to this?

Mine end up looking so bad, and take so much time that it is frankly not worth it.

Try 1)right (firing) arm 2)weapon 3) supporting arm

It's not very difficult after the first few.

wow-look at the response times…

Glue right arm and wait until it does not "gives". Once it is set, you can glue the weapon and left arm.

Pay someone else to do it. :)

Hold the arms in place to get the right placement. Then glue one arm on. Hold it for a few seconds until it sticks a bit. Then glue the other arm in place and adjust the first arm a little bit as necessary.

Gluing arms can be tricky.

I usually do a little dry fit, glue in one of the arms in position, making sure the bond is solid enough. I then add the second arm, making sure that there is glue on the hand holding the weapon so that it will form an extra bond.

Unlike metal, plastic has a lot less mass for gravity to grab hold of and break the bond, but you have to make sure it has been given enough time to dry sufficiently and will not fall off once you put it down.

I've fought against GW and Victrix minis who did fall apart once in a while, but a little practice helps a lot and you learn to appreciate how good something sticks.

I have been using contact cement for some plastics I have. a thin amount on body and arm. Let dry a bit, as you set up a half dozen. Then touch the parts together. This is better than plastic glue which works for most things on the plastic figs but still needs a wait time, while you hold it.

That Testors plactic glue has saved me time and trouble with the exact same thing you are fighting with John. As most have said, I go with the weapon arm first after eyeballing the two arms together as Pictors Studio recommends. That Testors glue (I'm sure there are similar products) is so fast that it isn't frustrating.

Also, if the heads are separate, I'm finding that if I get the arms done first, I can put the head just "so" to be looking down the barrel. It seems to be close and looks pretty good.

However, I have not bought the Victrix or Perry Plastics yet to try.

Best of luck,

Erik

I have just the same problem assembling 20mm plastic artillery pieces, if you don't get it 'juts right' the whole thing ends up looking goofy. After decades of practice I have found a combination of wedges on my workbench, bits of blu-tak and carefully rearranging the entire assembly before the bonds have completely set seems to produce a passable result.

The "trick" to assembling plastic models is understanding how plastic glue works. Plastic model cement, whether liquid or gel, works by chemically reacting with styrene and melting it a bit. When both parts melt a bit they merge and "weld" together. As the glue evaporates, joint becomes solid.

The solution is to take one arm place a very small amount of liquid cement on the area to be joined. Then, place the arm against the shoulder, count to three and then firmly press it into place and hold. You can also wiggle it a bit as you press into its final position. This facilitates the merging of the two parts. Then allow the cement time to evaporate (a couple of minutes).

The situation is a little more complicated when you have to position two parts on a third (like the example of two arms one holding a rifle to a torso). In this case the "Blue Tack" poster hanging putty is your third hand. Every modeler and painter should always have a supply of this stuff handy. Position the parts in the their positions using putty to hold everything together (in the old dyas we used tape). Then glue one joint, letting it cure before going to the next, removing tape or putty as you go. It helps to be working on several models in assembly line fashion.

Remember that model cement, itself, provides no mechanical support for the joint (even the old tube stuff). It melts the two pieces of plastic and then evaporates. This is completely different than using CA, or 'Super Glue' which operates on a completely different priciple.

It takes a bit of practice with liquid plastic cement, but he results are much superior to CA. So, breakout the roll of tape, knead your ball of poster putty and start assembling! The more you do the easier it gets.

P.S.

Don't use your fingers to press parts together! If you do, no matter how careful you think you're being, cement will wick between the part and you fingers and you'll leave finger prints all over your model. Use the back sit of your Xacto, a toothpick, or some other small object to apply the pressure.

I usually lie the models down on their backs while the join sets, to prevent droopage.

I use solvent and syringe.

First, I dry fit the parts. Sand/file/shave the arm if needed to better fit the torso.

Next put a touch of solvent on the back portion of the right arm and on the back of the receiving area on the shoulder. Wait a second or two for the solvent to put the plastic into solution, and lightly press together. Hold for 3-4 seconds. The arm should stay (it does for me).

Then, repeat the process with the left arm, but touch it to the torso such that it is swung a little leftward, away from the gun, and swing it into position so that the hand is holding the weapon. touch a drop of solvent tothe hand/weapon. Hold it there for 3-4 seconds.

Let dry for a minute or so before any further hamdling.

If there is space that needs filled at the joint, I go back with superglue and fill in, spray it lightly with accelerator, and shave if needed with a hobby knife to clean or add a little texture if needed.

I glue arms together to the weapon first, eyeballing the alignment. Let sit for a short time.

Next, afix both shoulders to the torso. There should still be enough give in the first gluings that alignment can be perfected. Now press firmly on the shoulders until cemented. You needn't worry about glue on the fingertips as the shoulders are usually large enough to absorb the drop of glue.

I use Tenax liquid solvent. Hold the arm where I want it, hit the figure with the solvent using an old crappy brush. Works every time.

I prefer using Ambroid ProWeld with the brush applicator. It seems to give me more control over where I put the glue and how much.